When it comes to addressing the climate crisis, private sector, nonprofit, and international action is continuing apace. At this point, companies have received pressure from a range of stakeholders, reviewed research demonstrating sustainability’s positive impacts on business resilience, and invested sufficiently in establishing sustainability programs that momentum continues.
Although progress has stalled at the U.S. federal level, participants during Climate Week NYC 2025 described how state and local governments are leading the way for U.S. climate action.
For example, states such as California are keeping pace with the global movement toward increased alignment with sustainability and climate-related disclosures for large companies. Additionally, state-level Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws have proliferated, prompting companies to evaluate the part they play in the lifecycle of consumer goods (particularly regarding plastic packaging).
Stronger Reporting Framework Adoption and Alignment
At a corporate-investor dialogue, a large multinational corporation indicated it would be disclosing for the first time in line with IFRS due to requirements enacted by California and Mexico. An EU-based pension fund with over $600 billion in assets under management is looking at climate-related, human rights, and biodiversity data and management by its portfolio companies.
Not only is there continued cohesion and alignment around a common framework for sustainability reporting, but certain reporting areas, such as nature-based target-setting and disclosures, are receiving heightened attention
Nature-Based Targets for Corporates Are Gaining Prominence
Grounding us in the reality and gravity of challenges we face, Adam Kanzer from BNP aptly reminded the attendees at Pure Strategies “Ambition to Action” sessions that we are in the middle of a sixth mass extinction event driven by human activities like habitat destruction, pollution, and climate change.
In our work consulting with clients on their sustainability impacts, we often hear the sentiment “We care about the environment, human rights, and biodiversity, but how does that impact our bottom line?”
Methodologies and frameworks for assessing and reporting sustainability-related impacts have been established for years now (SASB, GRI, etc.), but the Taskforce on Nature-Related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) and the Science Based Targets Network (SBTN) are advancing the vital work of guiding nature-based disclosures.
The TNFD has been backed by G7 and G20 governments, scientific institutions, and over 1,700 organizations including major financial institutions and corporations. The TNFD framework helps organizations assess and disclose their nature-related dependencies, opportunities and risks related to their supply chains, asset valuations, and financial stability.
The SBTN is a global coalition of environmental organizations, scientists, and sustainability experts working to help companies and cities set science-based targets for nature (a corollary to the climate-focused work of the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). Their methodology guides companies in how to identify and prioritize nature-related impacts, which can then feed into disclosures aligned with the TNFD.
The TNFD released their 2025 Status Report during Climate Week, citing evidence of more than 500 TNFD-aligned reports now being published. At a conversation convened by Anthesis Group, TNFD CEO Tony Goldner highlighted a handy guide on how to address questions on nature-related impacts to board directors, starting with, “How and where does our business depend and impact on nature?”
Erin Billman, executive director of SBTN, described how their methodology equips companies with the ability to conduct nature-focused materiality assessments and prioritize potential areas of impact.
We Have the Solutions We Need
The enormity of climate-related disasters and damage wrought both on human and non-human beings can seem insurmountable at times. An event hosted at Pioneer Works, “Science & Society: Heat Advisory,” honed in on the specific threat that extreme heat poses, which is now the leading cause of weather-related deaths in the United States.
Despite the long list of reasons to despair, there are experts such as Jainey Bavishi, who has dedicated her career to climate resilience, who highlight the array of existing and effective initiatives to address the impacts of climate change. Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, marine biologist, policy expert and prolific convener of climate solutions and solutionists, asserts: “…know that we already have most of the solutions we need — from regenerative farming, to renewable energy, to replanting ecosystems, to electrifying transportation — we don’t need to wait for new technologies, we just need to get to it.” (For even more inspiration, check out her new podcast, “What If We Get It Right?”). — from regenerative farming, — from regenerative farming,
To learn more about climate-related risk management and reporting, contact us.
